alright, im 16 years old and i have a 92 camaro with a 305 im low on cash but i want my car to be faster, should i go for the 350 swap or what can i do to my 305 to make it more pwerful.....i can get a 350 no problem but im wondering about how much its going to cost to do the swap, and from what it seems like the 305's are pretty much worthless......any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

Well, never undertake anything that you can't do well, but yeah, the 350 is much better, and whether the 305 is worthless or not, well, no, but a 350 is much better than 350/305s as good as a 305: a 305 not only has less displacement, it just couldn't breath well, either.

What will it take to put in a a 350. If its a complete, good engine, I'd guess you might get away with it for about $500 bucks if you do the work yourself and you are lucky. Realize you can probably sell your old engine if it is in good shape, for a little bit.

 

ok thanks, now for my next question.....you said it would cost about 500 dollars if it is a complete engine, what do i need that would cost that?

 

IF YOU ARE SHORT ON CASH I THINK YOU SHOULD KEEP THE 305, UNLESS YOU FIND A COMPLETE 350. I REBUILT A 305 FOR $1200. THAT MAY BE MORE THAN YOU WANT TO SPEND, BUT THAT WAS NEW EVERYTHING, FROM BEARINGS, CAM, LIFTERS, SPRINGS, RESIZED THE RODS, RINGS,AND I HAD THE BLOCK BORED .030 OVER AND THE STOCK CRANK TURNED .010 UNDER. I AM STILL USING THE STOCK HEADS, WHICH YOU COULD BY AFTER MARKET THAT WILL MAKE MORE POWER, BUT THAT IS MORE MONEY. NOW IT IS LIKE A NEW MOTOR AND RUNS GOOD. BUT IF THATS TO MUCH THEN YEAH GO FOR THE 350, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR CUBIC INCHES.

 

My $500 estimate is a general purpose -I don't know what I would need estimate, based on 40 years of it never going as good as I hope since my first project when I was 16.

Let's assume it is a 350 in really good shape and EVERYTHING is there, starter, accesory brackets, good water pump, the proper oil pan for this car, the proper throttle linkage, etc. Where would the money go? New motor mounts, possibly a different bell housing (it might have been meant for a different model trans, etc.), exhaust manifolds might not meet up with your exhaust, ditto for the air clearner and intake. You need new hoses and belts all around, stuff like that. If it were me, while doing this I'd remove the radiator and have it flushed, tested, maybe cored if its at all questionable. If you are extremely lukcy, in the best of cases, the minimum would cost you about $200 and a lot of work, but then, it never goes perfectly: there is always some problem or something that won't fit. that's what the extra $300 in my estimate is for.

 

You will also need a 350 prom.

 

would you need to swap out the tranny? or can the transmisson from the 305 still work with the 350?

 

well overall it depends on what you will be doing. if you want a car that looks nice, has a little nutz but gets you somewhat decent gas mileage, then you can set up the 305 to do that. like by buying long tube headers, not coated, will put you back around 150 beans. a nice intake setup, and a solid tune up will sit well and will take you back around another 200 beans, but you will have a nice little 305.
but ofcoarse if you are putting together a project car that you want a little scratch for when your all done, then putting the effort and money into a solid 350 is a better choice. you will slightly sacrafice gas mileage, but there is a hundred things you can do to improve it. and, you could go to your nearest junkyard right now and get one, and for an eye friendly price too. i would recommend going that way, having it rebuilt or if you have the experience, doing it yourself. if you get a bone stock, but running 350 out of a junkyard, the first thing i would with not a lot of money is get it running clean. new plugs, oil and filter change, etc... then, i would look into a nice streetable cam and timing chain, along with ceramic headers, a new intake manifold, and preferrably an edelbrock carb, but if the motor is carbureted, it oculd of come with a rochester q-jet, which you can have rebuilt to give you some nice performance. all that will set you back around 850 bucks, but you will have a nice streetable machine with plenty of nuts.

 

as for your transmission question, im pretty sure they have a different bolt pattern, but i might be wrong.

 

stick with the 305 because in the long run its cheaper and you can get almost just as much horsepower out of it.. you may just need to help the breathing of the motor before anythin to radical comes out.... but definantly a cam in a 305 really does alot especially in my 91 because i got a 305 in mine and i noticed a huge difference